


Mothman

by Happy_Papya



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chill XV, Cryptid Hunting, Fluff, Gen, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror, Humor, Mothman, Promptis - Freeform, Scary Stories, haunted forest, nothing too grotesque, pre-promptis, the horror is pretty mild though, they're college kids in this but this isn't really a college-au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-01-27 18:09:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12587636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Papya/pseuds/Happy_Papya
Summary: Noctis and Prompto are novice cryptid hunters, chasing rumors of a Mothman creature into an old forest. Noctis can see ghosts, and though he's eager to finally see something supernatural for himself, Prompto is terrified of spooks. During their quest, they find ominous ruins...





	1. The Forest

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU, Noctis can see ghosts (reminiscent of something versus13-ish I suppose) (I have a theory as to how this happened, but that’s another story). Ignis is the go-to source for anti-ghost charms, Gladio is your human meat-shield, and Prompto is the reason they go cryptid hunting. The boys are college-age, with too much free time~
> 
> Edit: I came back to make some minor edits before I posted the second chapter, so theres that :)

Noctis parks the car at the end of the dirt road. Blocking the way forward is a sign with the words “NO TRESPASSING” carved into dark wood. Behind it is a break in the tree line and a path that looks wide enough for a single car. 

“Are you sure we can make it through that?” Noctis asks, sticking his head out of the driver’s side window. “That doesn’t look like much of a trail.” 

Sitting beside him is his best friend Prompto, looking up from the Cryptid Hunters Official’s latest blog post on his phone. “Have faith, Noctis!” he says in some mock-adventurer voice. “We’ll be fine! Let’s get moving!” He motions to get rolling but only gets an insinuating silence. “What? It’s not like the Mothman is going to live in some picket-fence suburb. He’s reclusive, Noct,” he says, no doubt quoting the blog. “He’ll be in there deep. I can tell. We’ve got to get in as far as we can before we ditch the car.” As he speaks he’s reaching for his bag between his feet and pulling out a camera. “No, actually, wait here a sec. Let me frame this shot,” and he leans over the median to snap several shots of the rotting sign through the windshield. 

Noctis waits until Prompto seems satisfied before he starts pulling ahead. “So… what are you going to do if we get stuck?” 

“Ignis and Gladio are on their way! They’d be able to get us out, easy,” Prompto says from behind his camera. “Say cheese!” He snaps the picture without actually giving him time to say cheese. “And at least out here we won’t run into any ghosts.” 

“There’s one,” Noctis interrupts he spots a translucent figure hovering next to an old post lodged into the ground and oblivious to them driving past. The sunlight catches on its fading form so that it looks like nothing more than a cloud of mist. 

Prompto tightens his grip on his camera. “Way out in the middle of nowhere? Are you serious?” he whines. “You’re just pulling my leg aren’t you, Noct? Not cool.” 

“Doesn’t that blog talk about ruins out here?” Noctis says. “Some ghosts could still be sticking around...” 

Prompto shifts in his seat. “Those ruins are like, centuries old, Noctis. Like black-plague-era. Can ghosts even exist for that long?” 

Noctis spots another translucent figure. It has even less of a body than the last, just a cloud-looking wisp, and it is hovering over a pile of mossy stone. “There’s another one.” He jerks his thumb towards it as they drive past it. “Looks pretty old.” 

Prompto is tugging on the charm hanging around his neck. His eyes are scanning the side of the road, even though they both know he won’t see anything. “Ugh,” he shakes his head and leans back into his seat. “That really gives me the creeps.” 

“But the Mothman doesn’t?” Noctis asks. 

“Well, see,” Prompto leans in to impart his great wisdom. “Here’s the thing Noct. I can’t see ghosts.” He pauses, then waves his hand in front of his face for added effect. “That’s all you, buddy.” 

“Really? Prompto, all this time and I never knew!” Noctis says, clutching at his chest. Prompto rolls his eyes and gives Noctis a soft punch on the shoulder. 

It was a recurring joke between them. Noctis had never heard of anyone else with the ability to see ghosts, and most people would never believe him if he told, but it was the reason he and Prompto were friends. In their first year of high school, Noctis noticed a blond kid in his class, quiet and somber with dark rings under his eyes, and of course, a misty ghost attached to him at the hip. After their first class together, Noctis tried bringing it up. He wasn’t expecting to be taken seriously, but for whatever reason, Prompto was ready to believe him. Then he nearly passed out, and they both came to the uncomfortable realization that Prompto had an awful phobia of ghosts. Ignis, one of Noctis’s childhood friends, gifted Prompto the ghost-repellant charm he’s still wearing around his neck. 

Despite (or maybe because of) his phobia, Prompto is driven to see signs of the supernatural for himself. That’s what brought the two of them out here, anyway: Prompto’s dream of catching evidence of an elusive cryptid. 

The forest is getting even denser as they drive, and the trail is becoming more of a vague break between trees than anything resembling a road. It’s hard to see the sky from under the thick canopy of growing mass above them, but it's still light enough to see where they’re going. 

Noctis doesn’t see any more ghosts. 

“Look at that!” Prompto throws his head back at the sight of a clearing up ahead. “Thank the forest spirits or whatever is in charge of this place! I was getting so claustrophobic!” 

Noctis agrees. His car wasn’t designed for much off-roading. As they approach, piles of stone appear from behind tufts of dry grass; cobbled surfaces poke out from under deposits of browned leaves. Noctis pulls to a stop at the edge of the clearing. 

Prompto lowers his raised arms that had been praising the imaginary forest spirits and bites his lip. “Well…” he begins. “That’s sure… something.” 

The clearing is the site of some ruins, much more structured than they were expecting to find after centuries of abandonment. There are remnants of a cobblestone courtyard under the decay of the clearing, and in the center, a bone-dry pit that must have been a fountain. Noctis can see shattered remains of clawed feet standing on a broken pedestal at its center, and topples remains of carved stone pillars. Around the clearing are gnarled tree trunks, with thick roots exposed and still clinging to stone pavers. At the far side sits a vast stone building with tall windows, some filtering out a red haze of sunset, others hollow and lightless. It is crumbling and stained black from rain. 

It could be anything. Noctis suspects these ruins are so well preserved because of some historical significance, maybe in relation to the plague Prompto mentioned, but there’s no signage to tell him otherwise. “The Mothman’s mansion?” Noctis suggests. 

“Yeah, alright,” Prompto unclips his seatbelt and springs out of the car. “If you’re not going to take this seriously I’ll get started on my own…” Noctis can hear him saying before he shuts the door. His muffled voice follows, “Might as well set up camp…” he trails off. 

Noctis takes a moment to swallow his laughter, takes the key out of the ignition, and pushes open his door. 

It is very quiet. 

In all honesty, Noctis doesn’t have much experience with the great outdoors, but he can safely say that it is unnaturally quiet in the clearing. He looks over at Prompto who seems equally disturbed, frozen in his tracks with his eyebrows knotting together harder than the rotting roots of the tree stumps. 

Together they step closer to the tree line and are relieved to find that the sounds of the forest return as they do. Birds, bugs, and a rushing breeze. 

“G-guess we scared everything away when we drove in,” Prompto says, tugging at the charm around his neck again. 

Noctis looks over the clearing again. Summer is ending, and the forest is still very green, but the clearing is brown and dry. “Maybe it’s just a… dead… zone.” 

At that, Prompto vigorously shakes his head. “No. Nope. Wrong. Try again Noct.” 

They set up their base camp here, at the very edge of the clearing. Noctis is glad to have a place to park the car, and they’re still as far away from the facade of the black ruins as possible. They both pretend to ignore it as they set up their temporary camp. 

“So, when are Ignis and Gladio getting here?” Prompto asks, leaning against the trunk of the car and replacing the batteries of a camera. “Gladio told me he was bringing pizza. I’m for sure going to be hungry before midnight.” 

Noctis fumbles with his bag of cheese chips as he reaches for his phone. “I thought I was in charge of snacks…” he mumbles. 

“We can’t all live on cheese chips and dreams, Noct.” 

Noctis shoves another chip in his mouth as he checks his texts. “Uh, Prompto? Ignis says he’s working late. And Gladio is waiting on him for the ride…”

That look crosses Prompto's face again, his eyebrows knotted, and his lower lip pinched between his teeth. 

“Don’t worry, Prom,” Noctis teases with open arms. “You still got me.” 

“Yeah, well…” Noctis catches Prompto glancing in the direction of the black ruins, shadowed by the setting sun. “Ignis was really into this… It would be sad to go without him.” 

Noctis half expects Prompto to get cold feet and cancel their expedition. Their whole group has specific roles and Gladio is Prompto’s meat shield while Ignis is designated spook-provoker. Noctis’s only job is to provide emotional support and to tell Prompto when he’s walking straight into a ghost. It has happened more than once, and the poor ghosts are more ruffled by the encounter than Prompto because of the charm. “We could wait here for them, but they might not get here before midnight,” Noctis tells him, checking the time. 

Noctis is treated to a refresher course on the five stages of grief by watching Prompto. He’s making gestures with his hands and opening his mouth but losing his words, then tugging at his hair and chewing on his lower lip. By the time he hits stage “acceptance,” he’s looking back at the forest, and he seems to have come to a decision. 

“We can get started without them,” he says. “I mean, we drove all the way out here. We can’t just sit around here and not look for the Mothman. We can check out the forest, and when they get here we can try and tackle those ruins over there.” 

Prompto is right, and neither of them wants to sit around looking at the black ruins all night, so they gear up. Noctis had the presence of mind to pick up a map (lucky for them because Ignis is the resourceful one) so he’s marking spots Prompto thinks are Mothman-probable and a route connecting them back to the car. 

By the time they’re ready to go, Prompto is decorated with camera gear and sound recorders, trying not to bounce on the balls of his feet and send all the gear flying. He’s managing… somewhat. Noctis has the map, his phone, and a flashlight tucked into his jacket. As ready as they’ll ever be, they wade into the forest as the light fades from the sky. 


	2. Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Noctis try their luck at the creepy ruins.... do they find the mothman?

The forest turns out to be more a bog than they expected, very warm and wet. As they hike, Prompto begins rambling about exposure times and infrared, and they both dissolve into hysterical laughter with each squelching pop of yanking a boot out of the mud. Noctis is pretty sure they’re scaring away any cryptids in a five-mile radius with all their noise. 

They come across some more ruins as they trek. After all this time being consumed by nature, they’ve been reduced to haphazard piles of weathered stone and are covered in moss and vines. None of them are as black or isolated as the ruins in the clearing, but they don’t show any signs of Mothmen either. Noctis marks each spot on the map, Prompto gets some cool photos, and they move on. 

Other than the ruins, the forest is just a lot of nature. They make pit stops every time Prompto finds a convenient spot for some night photography. Somehow, he had managed to fit all his camera equipment in his backpack, and he was basically a living amateur photography studio. 

Time flies when you’re stalking a creature that may or may not exist, and the witching hour comes and goes. Noctis can see the excitement washing out of Prompto’s face as they near the end of their marked trail. 

Prompto stops to take a breather and check his last few photos, heaving a sigh and leaning up against a broad tree trunk. “Well,” he sighs, “It was worth a shot. Thanks for putting up with me.” 

Noctis steps up to him and rests an arm on his shoulder. “You giving up already?” he asks. “I think we’re making good progress. And besides, being out in the middle of the woods at night is… refreshing?” 

That gets Prompto to snicker. “Sure Noct. If you say so.” Prompto’s stomach growls, and he puts away his camera. “We should head back anyway. Those cheese chips are sounding really good right now.” 

“Maybe Ignis and Gladio are almost here,” Noctis says, digging through his pockets for his phone. “That pizza is sounding really good right now.” Noctis fiddles with his phone and falls into step beside Prompto as they make their way back to the car. He sighs nudges Prompto with his elbow after a minute. “No signal. Can’t send texts or anything. What about you?” 

Prompto frowns and pulls out his phone to check. “Uh, mine’s dead.” 

“Really? How? You were charging it in the car,” Noctis says. 

Prompto shrugs it off. “Guess it wasn’t plugged in right. The battery’s been kinda finicky lately too.” 

“Well…” Noctis looks down at his phone again. “They’re probably on their way. It’s not like they can get lost. That trail is a straight shot to the clearing. They might even be waiting for us.” 

But they get back to the clearing, and Ignis and Gladio aren’t there. 

“Aw man… I was really looking forward to that pizza,” Prompto says, popping open the trunk and starting to strip off all the camera gear. “Say, Noct,” Prompto says, shoving his backpack into the trunk and digging around to find the stash of cheese chips. “What do you think those ruins really are?” 

Noctis turns back to the ruins, holding out a hand for a new bag of chips. “It could be some estate,” he says. “But maybe a quarantine station from the plague? Did they have those?” 

“That would make sense,” Prompto says. “It was awful Noct. People would be covered in sores and coughing up black.” Prompto shudders and hands him his chips. “You’d think more people would know about this place. The blog mentioned ruins, but nothing this big.” 

Since they’re waiting for Ignis and Gladio, the two of them sit together on the trunk and rest their feet. Prompto is checking his photos, and Noctis is trying to get signal back on his phone. He’s not having any luck so far, so they’ll have to check Prompto’s phone once it has enough charge. If the other two show up soon, they’ll head out on another short hike to cover some more ground. For now, they’ll wait here, eating chips and kicking mud off their boots. 

Noctis is admiring some of Prompto’s long exposure shots of the shallow lakes and starry skies when Prompto interrupts. 

“Hey Noct,” he says, bumping shoulders with him. “I think we should check out those ruins.” 

Noctis looks up at him. “You want to?” 

Prompto is looking hard at the shadow of the ruins on the edge of the clearing. “You… don’t see any ghosts in there though, do you?” 

From here, the ruins look like a solid black mass, but Noctis doesn’t see any whips of white mist. “Well, it's not like I have x-ray vision, but there are no ghosts on the outside,” he says. 

That seems to both boost Prompto’s confidence, and jeopardize it. “Wait,” he says. “Did you see any ghosts while we were hiking?” 

“Nope,” Noctis says. “Nothing.” 

Prompto takes a minute to think, keeping a firm grip on his bag of cheese chips. “Yeah,” he says. “We should check it out.” He pushes himself off the hood and makes for the passenger side to check on his phone. “Yes! I’ve got half my battery back. That should be enough for a quick look around.” 

“You don’t want to wait for the others?” Noctis asks, following him around to the side of the car. 

“We’ll scout it out.” Prompto takes the camera back from Noctis and hangs it around his neck. “Maybe it really is Mothman’s mansion? Just uh…” he leans in close to Noctis and lowers his voice. Noctis doesn’t know who he thinks might overhear them. “Just tell me if you see any ghosts. Like, right away. I just want to know.” 

“Sure,” Noctis says. “I’ve got your back. Don’t worry.” 

With that, Prompto’s brightness is turned up to the max again, and he’s grabbing his camera and wondering aloud whether the lighting inside will be good enough without the flash. Noctis notices he’s leaving behind all the extra camera gear. Prompto’s phone doesn’t have signal either, so they head in not knowing whether or not Ignis and Gladio are on their way. 

When they get to the front of the ruins, it looks as if the whole thing is sinking into the earth, and the ground level rests in a depression at the edge of the clearing. Dirt is starting to pool in at the façade, but Noctis can see the top of some stairs at the front. The staircase is almost entirely buried. It must have sunk at least a few feet already. 

“Geez…” Prompto whistles as they climb down into the partially collapsed portico. “Hey, someone boarded up the front,” he says, brushing his hand over the tall doorway, but the wood is brittle and dry, and a chunk breaks off under his touch. “Oh… Whoops.” 

“I’m sure if it were important to anybody there would be more signs,” Noctis says. “Besides, going in through the front is probably the safest.” He presses on the boards, and the old wood crumbles away. 

They step down into what looks like a foyer, but it is cavernous and dark. Prompto switches on his flashlight and points it around the room. The walls in here are stained black too, weirdly enough, and the whole place looks devoid of any furniture or décor. Noctis turns on his flashlight as well, right after he almost trips on the stone debris littering the floor. 

“No ghosts yet?” Prompto asks in a hushed voice as they finish surveying the front room. 

“Nothing,” Noctis answers. 

Prompto grins and starts leading them through the ground floor. It is surprisingly intact, given how old it looks. Only a few places have caved in, and most rooms are so yawning and hollow that Prompto voices how delighted he is not to have to worry about his claustrophobia or ghosts. He even starts humming to himself gets back into the groove of taking photos, playing with the light of his flashlight against the stone, or the moonlight streaming in through the thin, empty windows. 

When they come to a grand staircase in another cavernous room, Prompto starts climbing without a second thought. 

“Hey, be careful,” Noctis calls, following him. “The upper floors might give.” 

“No worries, Noct,” Prompto calls back. “I’ll keep an eye out.” 

Prompto is already wandering down a hall when Noctis reaches the top. Before he can follow, his pocket starts buzzing at him, and he stops to dig around for it, tucking his flashlight under his arm. 

“H-hello?” he answers before the call can go to voicemail. In his haste, he drops the flashlight, and the light flickers and dies. “Dammit,” he says, and reaches for it. 

“Noctis?” It is Ignis’s voice, and he sounds worried. “Gladio and I have been trying to get a hold of you two for a while. Is everything alright?” 

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Noctis says. “Signal’s just really bad out here, and Prompto’s phone battery is on the fritz.” 

“Are you two still out exploring? We couldn’t find your car.” 

“Yeah, we drove in on the trail behind that trespassing sign. Parked at the first clearing.” 

There’s a pause where Ignis pulls away from the phone and says something. Noctis can make out Gladio’s voice answering. 

“The trespassing sign at the end of the road you mean?” Ignis asks. “We took that tail as well, but it looped around. We didn’t see a clearing.” 

Noctis doesn’t remember there being any forks in the trail. It should have been a straight shot here. 

“Noctis?” Ignis’s voice calls when he doesn’t answer right away. 

“Sorry, Ignis. I’ll get Prompto, and we’ll head out the way we came. We’ll meet you at the start of the trail.” 

“Noctis? Are you still there?” 

“What?” Noctis checks to see that he didn’t mute himself and tries again. “Hello? Ignis?” 

“He must have lost signal,” Ignis says, but his voice is dissolving into static. “What do you say, Gladio? …try the trail again…” and the call cuts off. 

Noctis pulls the phone away from his ear in disbelief and sees that it died. He stands there for a minute, debating on what he last remembered his charge being. He tries to shake the life back into his flashlight and has no luck with that either. “Hey, Prompto?” he calls out and doesn’t get an answer. 

Without the light of his phone or his flashlight, the darkness feels heavy, and its pressing on his chest. Even his breath sounds like its hitting a wall inches from his face, but he’s standing on the landing at the top of the grand staircase, facing empty space. For a moment he wants to call out to Prompto again, but the thought creates a weird tickling sensation that ghosts down his back. 

He turns around slowly and traces Prompto’s footsteps down the corridor. After rounding a corner, he sees the faint, jolting glow of flashlight coming from a doorway, and he walks a beat faster. 

The doorway leads to a branching hallway, and to his relief, Prompto is there, still humming to himself as he frames a shot of moonlight streaming through a sculpted window. Noctis is relieved for about ten seconds until something moves in the corner of his eye. His foot catches on something and he looks down, missing his chance to see whatever it was. 

Prompto startles when he hears Noctis stumble. “Noct?” he says. “Don’t sneak up on me! I almost had a heart attack!” Prompto steadies himself again for the picture and starts talking about how the dust in the air is creating a really nice effect in the window, but Noctis keeps his eyes peeled for more movement in the shadows on the far wall. 

As Noctis gets closer to Prompto, his eyes adjust to the dark he sees what must have caught his attention earlier. Something black is bubbling out of the wall at the end of the hallway. It is slow, and it looks thick like tar. One bubble will grow to about the size of his fist, and then pop and ooze down the wall. “Hey Prompto,” he says, but he loses his train of thought as he watches the black goop build up into a mound on the floor. 

“What’s up?” Prompto asks. He snaps a shot, frowns and crouches down for another. 

“Have you seen anything weird… around here?” Noctis asks, tearing his eyes away from the black goop. 

“Nope! Nothing.” Prompto takes another shot and stands back up, surveying the hallways for anything else to capture on film. “Place is pretty empty. But I’m getting some good photos!” 

Noctis looks back at the pile of black goop. It's about as high as his knees now. There’s no way Prompto wouldn’t have noticed it by now if he could see it, but it wasn’t a ghost as far as Noctis could tell. Noctis' stomach does a strange flip when he sees a finger-like protrusion growing out of the side of the mound. He looks back at Prompto, but Prompto is occupied with his camera, still humming and now tapping his foot along to the tune. “Can I see your phone,” Noctis asks. “Mine died.” 

“Yeah, sure thing,” Prompto says. 

While Prompto pats down his pockets, trying to figure out where he left his phone, Noctis looks back to the black goop. The protrusion is longer now and round at the top. Bubbling up to the surface, one at a time, are two glowing yellow beads

“Aw man,” Prompto sighs. “Its dead already! Noctis, can you believe this?” 

“Prompto, I think we should head back,” Noctis says. He’s trying really hard not to look at those yellow beads, but they’re stretching towards him, slowly. Its definitely looking at him now, whatever it is. Limbs are pulling out of the black now, and its starting to take on a ghastly shape, with its neck stretching down the hall and its yellow eyes inching closer and closer to Noctis. 

“What’s wrong? You think Ignis and Gladio are back?” 

“Y-Yeah,” Noctis answers, trying to ignore the way the thing's arms are reaching for Prompto, its fingers stretching long towards the charm hanging around his neck. 

“Alright,” Prompto chirps, before raising the camera. “But first say cheese!” 

The flash goes off and a harsh scream splits the silence. 

Noctis jolts away, almost falling flat on his back. He’s quick to look up though, and he sees Prompto first, stark white and gaping at the black thing, still gripping his camera. The thing continues to scream, and its spindly limbs make a grab for Prompto. 

Noctis scrambles to catch his footing and dives under the stretched neck to grab hold of Prompto and pull him out of its reach. He’s put some space between them and it, buts its hands are swiping after Prompto. Noctis pushes Prompto back in the direction they came, and they run for it. 

Once they’re around the corner, Prompto’s panic starts spilling out of his mouth. “What the hell was that? Noct? Noctis? What the hell? What the hell? Oh god. What?” 

Another shriek erupts and cuts Prompto off. Noctis doesn’t want to chance to look for where the noise is coming from, and pulls Prompto in the general direction away from it, into a room they hadn’t explored yet. They run through it and into another hall, but it’s a dead end. 

Behind them, the screaming is getting closer. 

“Noct!” Prompto cries. 

Noctis whips around and sees tar black limbs oozing out of the walls swiping through the air at Prompto. Before he can do anything, an elongated finger catches on Prompto’s charm and yanks him forward. More hands sprout from the wall and latch onto him. 

“Let them have it!” Noctis grabs hold of Prompto’s shoulder and fumbles for the clasp of the necklace. “Take it off!” 

Whether they manage to open the clasp, or the chain just breaks, Noctis isn’t sure, but he manages to haul Prompto out of the pulsing mass of black. Prompto is gasping and reeling, but he’s steady enough to follow Noctis as he looks for some way out. 

“There!” Noctis says, spotting a place where the stone has caved in towards the ground floor. “Go down there. Jump!” 

“I’m going to break my freaking ankles Noct,” Prompto says, but he’s already climbing down the hole. 

Noctis feels a creeping sensation working up his spine, and glances up in time to see beady yellow eyes speeding towards him from the darkness. 

He doesn’t bother to lower himself into the hole and just jumps. The landing zaps the strength from his knees, and he collapses onto the floor. He hears Prompto shout something, but the screaming is so loud now that he can’t make out what it is. When the world stops spinning enough for his vision to come back, he sees Prompto lobbing a chunk of stone at the yellow eyes following them. The screaming falters and Noctis loses sight of the yellow gaze. 

Prompto drags him to his feet, and they break for the entrance. Their hearts are pounding, their throats are tight, and their knees and elbows weak, but they have more than enough strength to sprint all the way to the foyer and climb out of the sunken portico. 

Noctis fumbles for his keys as they dash across the dead courtyard, hurdling fallen tree trunks and stone chunks. When they finally reach the car, they throw themselves into their seats and Noctis fires the engine. They slide across the dead grass as he whips the car around and races for the exit. 

He’s going so fast that he doesn’t realize how much ground they cover so quickly. The end of the trail is a lot closer than he thought, and he plows straight through the “no trespassing” sign, coming to a tire-burning halt feet from a sleek silver car parked at the end of the road. 

Ignis and Gladio are there, leaning against the side of the car, looking as if they’ve just seen their lives flash before their eyes. 

Noctis and Prompto sit there for a moment, speechless. 

Noctis breaks the silence with a rattling sigh and puts the car into park, slumping against the steering wheel.

Ignis and Gladio run to them and pull open the doors, each of them with a slew of distressed and exasperated words. 

Prompto is quick to scramble out of the car, jittery and stuttering, but gushing about what happened. Noctis is almost amused, because Prompto’s storytelling is never very coherent, and he’s jumping around between the ruins and the Mothman, then backtracks and tries to start from the two ghosts Noctis saw on the side of the trail. 

Noctis looks up and notices that Prompto is standing in the safety of the glow of the headlights. Right now, that looks very inviting, and Noctis scrambles to join his friend’s company. 

Ignis is always the practical one. After getting the gist of their horrifying experience, he suggests they move a little further back toward civilization and collect themselves. Since both Prompto and Noctis are too jittery to dive, Ignis drives Noctis’s car back towards the public side of the forest. Gladio is right behind in Ignis’s car, and they park in a small campground. There's a lake downhill from here, and through the trees, they can see the lights of a small general store and fishing dock on the shore. 

Gladio claims them a spot on a flat rock on the hill and sets up a campfire. Prompto starts tearing up when Gladio pulls out a couple boxes of pizza and some sleeping bags and actually does start to cry when Ignis produces a thermos of tea. They lay out the sleeping bags to sit on and eat, and Prompto gets to delve into a fantastical recollection of their encounter. 

Noctis doesn’t say much. His ears are still ringing from the scream, and if he concentrates he swears he can still hear it screaming in the distance, but the warm light of the fire and his friend’s chatting is enough to ease his nerves. 

Ignis seems confident that the thing wouldn’t follow them out of the ruins. Noctis probably would have seen it if it did, since it seems he could see it all along. He doesn’t understand why Prompto could see it though, and he mentions that they should try going back so he can get a look for himself. Prompto and Noctis are quick to tell him that it’s a bad idea. 

Gladio ends up making a bad joke about how he thought Prompto and Noctis had plowed through the forest just to get some pizza, and they all laugh. 

“Did you get any pictures?” Noctis asks after a while, noticing Prompto has still got his camera slung around his neck. 

“Oh!” Prompto says, setting his pizza on his knee and rubbing the grease off on his jeans. “That picture I took…”

Noctis waits for him to check the pictures, but Prompto freezes. “What?” he asks. 

“Uh… do you think maybe I should ritually burn the SD card?” Prompto asks. “Or maybe send it to a priest?” 

Noctis laughs mid sip and almost chokes on his tea. “What?” he coughs. 

“Like, I don’t want any virtually transmitted demons, Noct… Noct.” Prompto is trying to get through to Noctis, but it’s a hopeless endeavor. “No, wait. Noct, I’m serious.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make the "black plague" like the scourge, can you tell :)  
> its a bit adjusted for this au though  
> I imagine Prom and Noct go to a college and Ardyn is your everyday eccentric history professor (and Noct's great uncle eight times removed or something lol) and prom haggars him about plague facts after this lol  
> little does he know, ardyn has tea with the demons every sunday afternoon
> 
> also, the forest is based on the marsh of the vesperpool, and the ruins very loosely based on the solheim ruins in the vesperpool, and they're camping on a "modern day/real life au" version of a haven :)
> 
> thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed! I can see myself expanding this in little snippits, because I really want to write ardyn in now... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! And thank you to the Chill XV discord for the monthly challenge prompt(o) and encouragement! This is my first fanfic ever, so any thoughts or comments are really appreciated <3


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